by Carl Wolf- Outdoors Correspondent
Courtesy photo
Looking for a housekeeper? Look no further than your local forest. There you will find Tamias which is the Greek name for housekeeper or treasurer. Yep, chipmunks are found in the taxonomic group called Tamias because they are little collectors and storers of food for winter use just like grandma used to do. The common name originally may have been spelled “chitmunk,” referring to the sounds they make. They are also referred to as chip squirrels and timber tigers because of their stripes.
Chipmunks eat almost anything but primarily seeds, nuts and other fruits, and buds. They also eat grass, shoots, and many other forms of plant matter, as well as fungi, insects, small frogs, worms, and bird eggs. Chipmunks mostly forage on the ground, but they climb trees to obtain nuts and acorns. When autumn begins many species start stockpiling nonperishable foods for winter. They mostly cache their foods in a larder in their burrows and remain in their nests until spring. Cheek pouches allow chipmunks to carry multiple food items to their burrows for either storage or to eat.
Eastern chipmunks mate in early spring and again in early summer, producing litters of four or five young twice each year. Western chipmunks breed only once a year. The young emerge from the burrow after about six weeks and strike out on their own within the next two weeks. Chipmunks construct expansive burrows which can be more than 10 feet in length with several well-concealed entrances. The sleeping quarters are kept extremely clean as shells and feces are stored in refuse tunnels. The eastern chipmunk hibernates in the winter, while western chipmunks do not, relying on the stores in their burrows. Chipmunks typically live about three years and are said to sleep for an average of about 15 hours a day.
Female chipmunks like male attention just as humans do so be sure and remember this coming weekend is Valentine’s Day. Get something nice for your essential other
